“Oh. Er… hold up, Your Grace.” He was slow reacting as she started to take her leave. “I still need to saddle up!”
“I don’t think so!” She called over her shoulder. Picking up speed so she was nearly jogging, she added, “I have no need of a groom, nor anything else from you. Good day!”
He called something after her, but she didn’t stay put. There was already a neatly placed rock just outside of the stables that women had been using for years to climb into the saddle. All she needed was a minute to pull herself up, wiggle into the sidesaddle, and then nudge Pearl into motion.
The horse’s ears flicked in curiosity. Isla noted the skip in her step, an apparent eagerness that had her chomping at the bit. Tightness in Isla’s shoulders faded as she chuckled.
“I feel the same way,” she admitted while steering Pearl down the path. “Shall we have some fun now? Together?”
Pearl nodded like she understood the question. Isla shoved back the incident with Liam and the queasiness in her stomach––all matters she could attend to later––so she could nudge the horse once more.
“Hiya!”
And off they went, lungs full of hope to enjoy a ride without anyone else to bother them.
CHAPTER 25
“Are you certain nothing came?” Ronan asked again.
Hobbes sighed, a little dramatic for his taste, and glanced through the correspondence again. Like he and Ronan hadn’t already checked through the three piled spread about his desk.
“I’m certain. There won’t be much post today to come what with the weather turning,” his butler pointed with a glance toward the window behind Ronan.
As if to prove his point, lightning flashed beyond them. Thunder followed with a heavy rattle. It appeared they were in the middle of the storm.
Huffing, Ronan sat back down in his chair. “Now I can’t finish the accounting without that bill.”
“You’re the only duke I know who cares to manage his own accounts, and manage them in a timely manner,” Hobbes said with mild exasperation. “It’s a dreary enough day, Your Grace. Can you not find another way to entertain yourself?”
“Like what?”
“I’m your butler, not your director of life. Do as you see fit. Do what you will. Do anything other than squinting at numbers during a storm.”
Ronan frowned. “What if it’s fun?”
The old man rolled his eyes. “I’d believe it if I didn’t personally know you were kicked out of three of your mathematics classes during your earlier years.”
“It was for other reasons, not because of the equations,” Ronan said in his own defense.
Not that it garnered any sympathy now from Hobbes. It had once. Oxford had been a bit of a tangle for him. No one knew what to make of a future duke raised as a simple merchant boy. Those who did used their fists and mocking tongues––including over half the professors.
Leaning forward, Hobbes told him, “I know the reasons, my dear boy, every one of them. And they are no longer justifications on how to run your life. Just like there is no need for you to be hiding out here like this.”
“Hiding? I’m not hiding.”
“Aren’t you?”
There was warmth on his cheeks. Not a blush. Definitely not a blush. Simply…warmth. He eyed the nearby fireplace. It was roaring in the effort to keep this room warm so his fingers wouldn’t grow frozen and stiff.
“It’s nothing. Besides, I already spent some time with Oliver.”
“You checked in on his eating habits,” Hobbes corrected him. “Why don’t you go play a game with him? He does love his toy soldiers you brought him.”
For a moment, Ronan imagined doing just that. He could go up and see Oliver. His nephew liked him well enough, and even had begun to run to him every time they interacted. Something had shifted recently, bringing them slowly together. Oliver was noisier than ever as he chatted away in his limited vocabulary and gibberish. He still managed to make Ronan smile, though, and perhaps they could spend some time together in the nursery…
But thinking of the nursery made him think of her.
He jerked back in his chair. Their last interaction had been messy. It had not gone the way he intended; part of him knew he owed her an apology, and yet the thought of talking to her made him tongue-tied.
